Race: St. Michael’s 5k

I was overly nervous coming into the race. I knew I should PR. I knew that if I didn’t I would be upset. Hence the undue pressure. I need to get it into check.

5:30 wake up time. Not bad. Shower, Shave, Out the Door. Waved to the neighbors as they loaded up the family. It was C’s first half. Stopped for gas, talked to C for a minute. She was nervous. Turns out she did amazing (2:07 I think).  Hit a bit of traffic getting into town. Still on time though. 7 am and I was parked. Race didn’t start till 8:15. I relaxed in my car listening to music. It was pretty nice actually. Walked over to the start with 10 minutes to spare.

Mile 1 (8:04): Lining up was horrific. That was a lot of pressure. First half mile was bad. Legs felt like lead. Started feeling woozy and lightheaded. Realized I was going to pass out. Thoughts started flying through my head.

‘Wow, this is going to be embarrassing’ ‘Who passes out in a 5k’ ‘This is going to hurt my face’ ‘Why am I feeling like this’ ‘I hope someone picks me up’

Looked at the Garmin 6:35 mile…no wonder I feel like shit. Backed it way down to grab composure. Felt better pretty quickly. Spent the rest of the mile laughing at myself.

Mile 2 (8:24): Eh…pretty mentally bad this mile. Was running alone. Kept doing the math in my head. Didn’t think a PR was in the cards. Wondered if I should just back off. I told myself I’d be disappointed. One step. One step.

Mile 3+.1 (8:08 avg): I was tired but not exhausted. Kept my stride in step with a woman ahead of me for the first quarter mile. Head down. There was a little girl (9) in front of me who was tired…that may be an understatement. Her Dad jumped out and ran with her a bit – it was pretty cool. Pushed at the end – well pushed what was left.

Finish Time: 25:22

That is a HUGE PR for me. I mentioned before about my running goals for this race and my lack of publicly announcing them. Only 2 people knew. The time needed to start with 25. Could have been 25:59 for all I cared. Just start with 25. Never in a million years did I think I would PR by 48 seconds. Cloud Nine.

The post race festivities were pretty cool. I couldn’t stay long. D and I were headed to the Luke Bryan concert. But I did stick around for an hour and listen to the band, drink a beer and waited impatiently for the results. There was a chance I had placed in my age group. I was either 3rd or 4th. In or out. I had been trying to count the ladies during the race. Knew it would be close. Results came in and I was again in disbelief. 2nd place in my age group! and a Trophy! My first Trophy!

The PR and Trophy turned what would have been a so-so day into a great one. I’m happy, I’m proud of myself, and I took home some really valuable lessons. On to the next one!